Petrov Affair resonates, six decades on

It's been 60 years since the so-called Petrov Affair, which saw a Soviet diplomat in Sydney defect to Australia with assistance from agents of the domestic security agency ASIO.

(Transcript from World News Radio)

The events surrounding Vladimir Petrov and his wife, Evdokia, closed down the Soviet embassy in Australia for several years and prompted the Menzies Coalition government to call a Royal Commission to investigate alleged Soviet espionage in Australia.

Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales, David McKnight, is the author of the book Australia's Spies and their Secrets.

He is speaking to Kristina Kukolja.

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